This month there was a big interest in cars in both toddler rooms. When driving bikes around the playground many children were stopping and pretending to fill their cars up with gas by using pieces of wood from around the playground. Educator Aly from Toddler 1 and educator Kat from Toddler 2 joined in on the play by pretending to be attendants for a gas station and a toll booth.
This led to the educators gathering supplies at lunch time to build onto the experience. They created a gas station and a car wash, and even borrowed traffic signs from the Preschoolers. It was a big hit! All the toddlers were engaged in one way or another, some raced their bikes around stopping each lap for gas or “a tire change” and back through the car wash tunnel. While others were pretending to work at the gas station filling up bikes and collecting ‘money’ as they came around. Other children were running through the car wash tunnel or using the squeegees to clean the chalk board like a windshield.
This interest even continued for a few days as we brought the gas station in and we used cardboard circles as money and the children exchanged it back and forth as they filled their toy cars before driving them around on a car mat. Outside the toddlers have continued to use the car wash and gas stations around the bike path. What else do you think we could add to our car wash and gas station?
